Stonehenge was painted orange by Just Stop Oil protesters

The group said in a statement that it “calls on our next government to sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.” She added that the paint is made from cornmeal, which will be washed away by rain. She identified the protesters involved as Niamh Lynch, 21, and Rajan Naidu, 73.

Local police He said They arrested two people after the incident.

English Heritage, the charity that runs Stonehenge, said the site remained open. “This is clearly very disturbing and curators are investigating the extent of the damage,” she said. Social media.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chirp After the incident Just Stop Oil was considered a “disgrace”. Opposition leader Keir Starmer also criticized, saying in a mail that “the damage to Stonehenge is outrageous” and that “those responsible should face the full force of the law.”

Recent years have witnessed a wave of protests involving historical and artistic objects, with activists spraying paint, soup and other materials on works of art such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”.” To draw attention to issues including the climate crisis, and urge museums to launch an international appeal to stop it.

However, this week’s incident appears to be “a kind of escalation,” said Shannon Gibson, a professor at the University of Southern California who researches global environmental politics and social movements. While previous incidents at museums have left only surface-level damage to the protective covering of an artwork or historical object, protesters at Stonehenge applied paint directly to an iconic UNESCO monument. World Heritage Site.

Critics say such protests could alienate potential supporters of climate justice movements and create a spectacle rather than bring about change.

But Gibson said a protest is meant to be a spectacle — and that protests at sites like museums and historical monuments reach out to individuals Who may be safe from the effects of climate change.

“We don’t need to protest on the islands, on the coasts, or in the Arctic — they understand it, they know it, they live it,” she said. “This means saying to the people who own the money, make the decisions and control fossil fuels: This affects you, too.”

When targeting an old building, something that “people think can never be changed,” Gibson said, such protests provide “a The juxtaposition between what has stood the test of time and what will not if we do not solve the climate crisis.

The unique Stonehenge stone circle was built 2500 BC To align with the movements of the sun. On the summer solstice – the longest day of the year – thousands gather to watch the sunrise through a gap in the outer circle of stones.

UNESCO describes location As “the most architecturally advanced prehistoric stone circle in the world.”